


Forget me not

by PinkLion



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Amnesia, M/M, Possible Relationships - Freeform, tagging just in case, weirdmegeddon didn't happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-07-22 19:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7451449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkLion/pseuds/PinkLion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper can't remember anything from the summer when he was 12 but he never thought much of it, people forget things all the time, their keys, phone, wallet, an entire summer. He never gave it a second thought until a stranger triggers memories and he is faced with the dangers of the past. What has his family been hiding from him and how does this stranger connect to all of this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The mystery twins are back!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys hows it going, new fic here with an actual fifteen page plan and everything! I've been meaning to upload this thing for a while, I was going to wait until I had ten chapters so I could keep pumping this shit to you guys, but my laptop recently broke and I nearly lost the entire thing so in the name of YOLO I had to upload it while I still can. Now with my fixed laptop in hand and endless cups of teas and coffee's I present to you my amnesiac AU thing. Enjoy.

Dipper and Mabel went to the Mystery Shack every summer since they were twelve. Now they were turning nineteen they had decided to move there permanently both to help out at the shack and take advantage of the university courses, Gravity falls was one of the only towns to provide a realistic class in supernatural phenomena, a class which piqued Dipper’s interest like no other class could. Once he had his heart set on it he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Meaning his parents really had no choice but to let him go, plus he was legally an adult so there really was no way for them to stop him. Mabel, of course followed him all the way, well except she chose a fashion course. The mystery twins were back in action at the Mystery Shack, permanently. They were to live with their grunkle’s Stan and Ford that was the only request from their parents. Stan and Ford travelled a lot on the StanOwar discovering new lands and creatures alike and documenting them. They earned a generous amount of money doing so, as long as they kept their discoveries a secret from the public. While they adventured in far out lands, Soos took over the Mystery Shack along with Melody and his son Soos Jr. Currently the Stan’s had temporarily returned to spend some quality time with the Mystery Twins, who were currently taking the long trip to Gravity Falls.

“Hey Dipping dots can we stop for some snacks?” Mabel asked tiredly, Dipper had been driving them for around seven hours, with many snack breaks and stops on the way, on Mabel’s insistence,

“We just stopped literally five minutes ago.” Dipper pointed out with a found smile,

“Aw c’mon, the last place didn’t have the snacks I wanted,” Mabel pouted, 

“Didn’t stop you buying any,” Dipper gave his sister a grin in return of the glare she sent his way, he indicated and turned into the car park of the stop Mabel was referring to, she gave him a bright smile, 

“Thanks bro bro!” She started getting out the car, 

“Just get me some Doritos and we’re even.” He called after her, receiving a thumbs up as acknowledgement. Dipper waited patiently in the car, readjusting his hat, he and Wendy continued to switch hats every summer, despite her hat not suiting him, and Dipper was a little excited to finally get his old pine tree hat. For some reason he was just drawn to the hat, he just felt bare without it, he used to wear it to cover his birthmark but as he matured other people seeing it became less of a problem. He deliberated over his attachment to his hat and came to the conclusion that it was due to all the deep memories it held, all those summers spent in Gravity Falls, the friends he made, the hat was a symbol for Gravity falls itself. 

Dipper wore a small smile and a distant look was on his face as he stared out the car window, Mabel recognised this as the face he made when he was reminiscing, usually it was to do with Gravity Falls. Mabel skipped, miraculously not dropping the paper bag full of snacks she was holding, to the car excitement bubbling inside her, she shoved the large bag in the back seat of the car and got in front, 

“I’m sure glad you have a large trunk to put all our stuff in or there wouldn’t be any room for my snacks,” Mabel grinned pulling some drinks out of the bag and handing an iced coffee to Dipper, effectively snapping him out of his own mind, Dipper rolled his eyes processing what Mabel had just said, 

“Okay, I know I know, ‘you told me so’ you’re right it was a good decision.” Dipper sighed lightly punching his sisters arm,

“You bet I’m right,” Mabel grinned pulling out a pack of Doritos for them to share, 

“Only one and a half hours until we get there, you excited?” Dipper asked as he began to drive out of the parking lot, shoving a few Doritos into his mouth,

“I’m super-duper excited dipping sauce,” Mabel almost squealed, Dipper gave a light chuckle, 

“Me too,” He said, 

“Oh, I missed Waddles so much,” Mabel dramatically leaned back in her chair pretending to be faint with worry, 

“I still stand by the fact that it would have been impossible to bring him back with us last year, mom and dad would have killed you, and then me.” He laughed, their parents had gotten so sick of Waddles that they threatened to lock him out of the house if Mabel brought him back again, and although the thought of Waddles wandering around Piedmont causing havoc was amusing, Dipper resolved that it would be the smarter idea to just leave him in Gravity falls until the next summer. 

“We could have hidden him!” Mabel threw her hands up exasperatedly giving a small pout. Dipper just shook his head and concentrated on driving. Mabel plugged her phone into the car radio so she could play some music now that her phone was fully charged. They rode for a while, the only sound being the soft acoustic guitar accompanied with the relaxing vocals from Mabel’s phone, Mabel tapping along to the beat and Dipper’s attention focused on driving, both twins content and appreciating each other’s company. 

“I wonder if Pacifica’s still in Gravity Falls,” Mabel said absentmindedly, Dipper wore a knowing smile, 

“I think she will be there; it is summer after all.” Dipper said casually, both girls had the biggest crush on each other and it was obvious to everyone but them, for a love expert Mabel was kind of dense when it came to Pacifica. Mabel just stared out the window seemingly deep in thought, a rare moment when it came to Mabel. However, when it came to Pacifica it seemed to be more of an instinct. She would spend ages considering what to text back, Dipper reckoned it would get frustrating having to wait that long to receive a text but he couldn’t really complain, he would sometimes take hours to reply to texts, coming up with lame excuses like, his phone was dead, most of the time though he just didn’t want to reply.

They soon arrived at Gravity Falls, unsurprisingly the giant bag of snacks Mabel had purchased were gone, and Dipper pulled up to the Mystery Shack, glad to be finally there, he had grown tired of driving and as soon as he left the car he let out a huge yawn, 

“Y’know I could have drove,” Mabel pointed out, 

“I’d rather be sleepy than crash into a tree.” Dipper shrugged, 

“Hey that only happened three times!” Mabel exclaimed, Dipper rolled his eyes, 

“Four if you count the time you hit that car into a tree,” Dipper gave her a small grin and Mabel pouted crossing her arms. The twins moved to the trunk of the car to get their bags and Stan and Ford came out to greet them, Soos ran up and scooped them up into a tight bear hug,

“I missed you dudes so much,” Soos smiled seemingly on the brink of tears, 

“Can’t breathe,” Dipper gasped wriggling while Mabel broke into fits of laughter, Soos let them go and Dipper and Mabel gasped for air, 

“It’s nice to see you too,” Mabel beamed, their reunion was interrupted by a squeal and Mabel’s face instantly lit up, “Waddles!” She cried and hugged him tightly while laughing, “Aw I missed you so much Waddles!” The pig, in reply, squealed presumably in delight, 

“Hey Stan and Ford, thanks for looking after Waddles while we were away,” Dipper grinned giving the Stan twins a short hug, noticing that now he was around the same height as them. 

“We missed you kid,” Stan said as he returned the hug,

“We’re glad your back Dipper.” Ford gave him a warm smile, just as Dipper pulled away Mabel ran up to them and gave them a tight hug, sending them back a few steps, 

“We missed you too kiddo,” Stan smiled ruffling her hair affectionately, 

“Come on guys lets go in, we’ve prepared dinner for you,” Ford smiled, once Mabel had pulled away. 

“Don’t worry Ford had no part in it.” Stan said nudging Ford while the twins laughed,

“Hey I can cook you know,” Ford gave a small frown, 

“Last time we were here you set the microwave on fire, twice in one day” Mabel grinned lightly shoving Ford in the shoulder,

“How was I supposed to remember that foil sets microwaves on fire in this dimension,” Ford defended, they all laughed the twins grabbed their bags and entered the Mystery Shack, Dipper went ahead to take his bags to his room while Ford stopped Mabel,

“Hey any problems with him?” Ford whispered, looking behind him to ensure Dipper was gone,

“None,” Mabel smiled,

“And the nightmares?” Ford pushed, his voice on edge and filled with worry, 

“Grunkle Ford they haven’t come back for five years now, he’s fine.” Mabel insisted,

“I know, but you know how I worry, we don’t know what will happen if-”

“I know, I know but it’s all okay, so stop worrying,” Mabel gave him a reassuring hug and went to join her sibling at the top of the stairs, 

“You alright?” Dipper asked and Mabel smiled brightly,

“Sure thing bro bro, you staying in the attic room again?” She asked, 

“Yup, it’s a good room,” Dipper grinned,

“Whatever, I’m going in the one opposite you again” Mabel grinned back, 

“Like always,” He said and left for the attic room. Mabel moved to the room opposite, which had been put in when they renovated the Shack. Once she entered the room she dropped her bags and let out a long sigh leaning against the closed door as she looked around the room. It was completely different to the attic room, mainly because it was built for her. She pushed herself off the door and walked to the bed, it looked so inviting, most of her stuffed animals were still on the bed from last year. She had a sneaking suspicion that they all had been cleaned, though Stan would never admit it the twins knew that every year before they came back Stan would clean the dust out of the room and wash all of their bedsheets. Once Ford had let slip that Stan would always hum while he did so, almost like an excited child. The twins doubted that was true as it was so uncharacteristic of him, that and Ford was drunk when he told them. Mabel picked up a frog plush toy and hugged it close smelling the detergent Stan always used. It was the familiar smell that Mabel always missed and she stayed there for a moment before dropping the toy and leaving the room a wide smile on her face. Dipper was waiting outside for her they headed downstairs for dinner. Stan was just serving up dinner when the twins entered the kitchen.

“This smells delicious,” Mabel smiled emphasizing her point by taking a deep breath in and letting a contented sigh out after, Stan gave a small smile, 

“Well I thought we should celebrate you guys moving here permanently,” Stan said placing the plates at the table, the twins sat down to eat, 

“So, have you guys brought all your things in yet?” Ford asked, 

“Almost, we’ve left a few boxes in the car but we can get those later or even in morning,” Dipper replied shoving a forkful of food in his mouth, savouring the delicious taste of Stan’s cooking, 

“So how was school, I trust you both got good grades,” Ford said, his gaze was fixed on Dipper who grinned, 

“He came the top of his class,” Mabel said excitedly, 

“That’s very good,” Ford smiled, Dipper chuckled, 

“Let’s not forget Mabel came second,” Dipper grinned at his sister, 

“Only because of your harsh tutoring,” Mabel smiled, 

“Well it worked,” Dipper said lightly punching his sisters arm. 

They all ate happily and chatted about everything they had missed out on in the year. Once they finished Dipper and Mabel volunteered to wash up before a movie night. 

“I missed this place,” Mabel smiled as she put a plate away, 

“Me too,” Dipper said handing her another plate to dry, “I can’t wait until we get to go out to the forest and explore again, I wonder if I will find anything new this year.” Dipper smiled, 

“We should go exploring tomorrow,” Mabel enthused, 

“That would be fun, but don’t you want to see your friends tomorrow?” Dipper asked handing her a pot, 

“I’d rather go with you, plus without me you might trip on a log and hurt your ankle,” Mabel smiled and Dipper flicked some bubbles at her receiving some back before he decided to stop preventing an all out war.

“Yeah right,” He chuckled, they continued washing up talking about of all the places they could go the next day. 

Once they finished up they sat with the Stan’s to watch a movie, after the movie the twins got the rest of their things out of the car and went to their own rooms to unpack. Dipper was putting his books on his bookshelf when his hands paused over three red books, each cover had a golden hand with six fingers, like Ford, and a number painted on each, Dipper picked up the third one and flipped through it, all the pages were blank they always had been, Ford had apparently given him them for his twelfth birthday though he can’t remember why he had been given them, all three books were completely blank, he had initially intended to fill them with the creatures he found in the forest but for some reason he felt it was better to leave them blank. He did fill his own notebooks with drawings and information about all the supernatural creatures he found in the forest, they were just simple black notebooks, not as elegant as the three he had received, but he had filled about five in the years he had been to gravity falls, one for each year. He planned to document more creatures and he eventually wanted to publish some of his findings, though he knew they wouldn’t be taken seriously he figured he could always publish them as fiction. After unpacking all of his books Dipper flopped onto his bed, letting out a long sigh he closed his eyes only planning on resting for a moment before he unpacked the rest of his things.


	2. Thoughts in stone

Bill was conscious. He had been for the past six years that he had been stuck in his stone prison. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak and he couldn’t use magic. For six years he was stuck unmoving having no effect on his surroundings, no influence. It was a frustrating position to be in, a being of pure energy with the power to take over the world and rule over multiple dimensions, who had destroyed dimensions, stuck as a stone statue. How embarrassing.

Six years gave him time to think though, he didn’t consider this a good or a bad thing but six years with only his thoughts was a good time to think things through, form new plans, remember good times, bad times, strategize. But in reality he knew he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. While six years to a dream demon was nothing against eternity, when you were trapped it was more than enough time. 

Bill had spent a good portion of that time thinking of ways to kill all of the Pines family but that gets boring after a few years. He’d come up with hundreds and hundreds of scenarios all just as brutal as each other, but after around the third year, he stopped, he thought instead about the Pine’s family, they had only defeated him to protect themselves, Bill could see that, he wasn’t stupid just egocentric.

He thought about all the people he had hurt and how he affected everyone, he didn’t feel bad nor did he regret anything, apart from being defeated before he could start the apocalypse. But it was something to think about, and boy did he need something new to think about. How he could have acted differently, how would things have worked out if he had helped people rather than cause them trouble? He had been bored, to a dream demon taking over an entire dimension was child’s play, just a game, he would have destroyed this dimension, had his fun for a few hundred years and then moved on to another dimension, the cycle would continue, on and on. But now he was stuck here, in stone his only ability was to think, to think and hear. All that he could hear was woodland creatures, and the wind blowing the trees. He, at first resented it, but now he found comfort in the atmosphere it created, relaxed, almost timeless. Sometimes when his thoughts became too much he would concentrate on listening, he’d find the breeze and how it moved the trees, he would name all the creatures just from their footsteps. It was strangely the best way to escape his own intrusive thoughts, it helped him ignore the reality of the situation. 

Bill hated how much he had changed his way of thinking since he was trapped, he had thought about how his actions had effected everyone, even tried to wonder what things were like from their perspective, he’d become more, and how he hated to even think, selfless. If he had a physical form, he would shudder at the mere concept of the word and him being in the same sentence. Selfless.  
-  
At least once a day he would think about Dipper. The twelve-year-old boy who had defeated him more than once, he was the first child who had managed to stop him. He reckoned that would be quite an honour if Bill hadn’t kept coming back for more. He had always thought as Dipper as just another pawn in his game, a puppet, just another toy. But a toy that could think for itself was no fun at all. Or was it just more fun that Dipper was capable of intelligent thought. Now that was a new one for Bill. A human, intelligent. What was his mind doing?

If he ever did get out of his stone prison, he would punch Ford in the face. Hard. No mercy he would hurt Ford for doing this to him, Bill had, well he had become soft.

Soft. Like a boiled egg, he hated it, six years out of however many he had lived and he could barely recognise himself. That was it. When he got out of his stone prison he would hurt Ford. He just needed a way.

A way. That was the hardest part, how could he get out of this one, he had no magic, his reliance on magic would be something to laugh at if it was not so addictive, like a drug. And now he had to suffer the withdrawal symptoms, instead of the normal symptoms of headaches and a bad attitude Bill just had boredom. He guessed that this was like the human concept of Karma, he had done a bad thing and now he had to suffer the consequences, because the universe had nothing better to do then screw him over. Now that was laughable. 

In reality his current position was only due to his carelessness, he had gotten cocky, his overconfidence was his downfall and now he had to suffer the consequences. He really couldn’t find it in himself to feel bad for his actions. He had to admit, it was fun while it lasted. 

His mind focused on the young Pines twins, they would be about eighteen, he couldn’t imagine what they would look like now, probably taller, Bill had little knowledge of human aging he had decided that it was insignificant and never bothered to look at it. He recalled one time when Dipper had found his statue in which he was trapped, the boy looked confused and curious as he approached but Mabel had quickly dragged him away in a different direction. Bill didn’t really focus on it too much, more caught up, at the time, with new ways to brutally hurt the twins.

Now. Now he wished that they would return, he needed someone to talk to him, even though he couldn’t speak back, the mere thought of someone talking to him seemed, amazing, like water to a lost traveller in a desert.

He listened to the forest again, to avoid the lonely thoughts from consuming him. The trees swayed in the breeze and Bill could hear birds chirping, someday he would get out of this prison. He will find a way. 

Soon, he will find his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys new chapter as promised, this one is really short but only really works on its own, next chapter will be up tomorrow or maybe later today if I get too impatient. This chapter hasn't been beta'd by anyone for no particular reason but I have read it through and edited it a few times. Anyway I'm just rambling now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a comment if you want, it's always appreciated.


	3. Climbing Tree's

Dipper found himself in a strange place. Everything was monochrome and looked as if it was crumbling apart, in the distance he could see strange creatures, some he recognised and others were new to him. They were aimlessly floating about, some decaying others turning to dust as they floated their remains dissipating into nothing. Dipper looked down and saw no ground yet he knew he wasn’t floating, his stomach felt tight and anxious, ready to flee, he knew he didn’t belong here but he didn’t know how to get out. One of the creatures caught sight of him and suddenly, as if reenergised, sped towards him with purpose and intent, Dipper assumed the intent wasn’t to have a pleasant conversation. Dipper’s instinct to flee kicked in and he rolled out of the way just in time. 

Dipper woke up as his body hit the floor, he had apparently rolled out of bed. He sat up rubbing his back to soothe the dull pain which had formed there. Sighing he decided to get dressed, he checked his phone, to find it was seven am. Dipper walked towards the box that had his clothes in and pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and a red plaid shirt, the first two things that were in the box. Yawning he grabbed Wendy’s hat off of his desk and decided to go downstairs for breakfast, he quietly made his way downstairs, avoiding all the creaky floorboards so he didn’t wake anyone up. Before he reached the door he hesitated as he heard voices, 

“Are you sure he won’t remember,” It was Ford’s voice worried, Dipper wondered who this ‘he’ was,

“I’m sure, coming back here was the best decision,” Mabel’s voice, assuring but Dipper detected a hint of worry, he wondered who they were talking about. He figured it was bad to eavesdrop, 

“But-“ Ford cut himself off as Dipper entered the kitchen, 

“Oh hi bro bro,” Mabel smiled, though it was slightly strained, this rose Dippers suspicion. 

“Morning.” Dipper said shortly, he had planned to ask them who this ‘he’ was but the atmosphere became tense as soon as he entered, 

“Did you sleep well?” Ford asked, glancing towards Mabel, now this was suspicious, he knew from experience in school that this meant they had been either talking about him or someone close to him, 

“I-“ Dipper hesitated, he knew how both Ford and Mable reacted to his nightmares and something already had them on high alert, “I did thanks,” He instead replied, rubbing the back of his head under his hat knocking it askew, and giving them a small smile, for some reason they both looked relieved, Dipper knew something was up for sure. Dipper also knew that of he asked what was wrong outright he wouldn’t get a proper response so he chose his words carefully, “So what are you guys up to this early?” He said lightly, setting his hat straight, 

“Oh we were just discussing, um, the party.” Mabel smiled, this was when Dipper decided that they had been talking about him, they were acting way too suspicious for it to be anyone else. 

“Party?” Dipper questioned making his way to the coffee machine and grabbing a mug as it heated up, the room was silent for a moment aside from the buzzing of the coffee machine, his back was turned so he couldn’t see his twin or Ford but he was sure they were exchanging looks, 

“Yeah dummy, our welcome back party tomorrow night, did you forget already?” Mabel chirped, nervousness leaving her voice completely her mind now focused on the party,

“Oh yeah sorry,” Dipper mumbled adding some milk to his coffee, watching for a moment as the liquid changed colour, 

“We’re gunna invite everyone!” Mabel exclaimed excitedly, Dipper suspected that she had already had a glass of Mabel juice this morning, if the pink glittery liquid in the blender next to the toaster was any indication.

“Even Tad Strange?” Dipper questioned turning to face her now that he had a steaming cup of coffee, Mabel hesitated,

“Even Tad Strange!” She repeated with more enthusiasm, “Wendy too.” Mabel added with a sly smirk, Dipper rolled his eyes,

“Mabel you know I’m over her right?” He shook his head slightly, 

“Oh yeah, then why do you still keep that picture of you two that you took,” Mabel grinned, Dipper felt his cheeks warm slightly, 

“It’s a nice picture, we’re just friends Mabel and you know I’m long over her,” Dipper insisted. 

“Sure” Mabel drawled and Dipper sighed sitting next to Ford at the kitchen table, 

“You plan on having the party here then?” Dipper asked blowing on his coffee before taking a small sip. 

“Yup,” Mabel beamed, 

“Do you think Stan will be okay with it, he hasn’t ever let us have a party here,” Dipper pointed out, 

“He did once.” Mabel replied before stopping abruptly, Dipper rose his eyebrow at her but decided to speak anyway, 

“No I don’t think he ever has, remember when we were thirteen I asked if we could have a party here and he said no because he didn’t want the place to be trashed by zombies.” Dipper paused, “Quite a specific fear to have,” He mumbled quietly taking a large gulp of coffee, meaning he didn’t see Mabel’s eyes widen slightly before she calmed down,

“I have a feeling this year he will let us.” Mabel grinned, 

“Well good luck with that.” Dipper said, 

“So Dipper, you know what collage classes you want to do?” Ford asked changing the subject, 

“I’m thinking the paranormal investigation course, considering the high activity in this town it’s one of the only realistic courses.” Dipper grinned, Ford nodded in approval.

“I only wish I could have done a course like that when I was a kid,” Ford sighed, 

“I’ll keep you up to date with everything we learn,” Dipper smiled, 

“Anyway, why aren’t you guys living in the dorms again?” Ford asked, 

“Our parents said they’d feel more comfortable if we stayed with you guys,” Mabel said,

“Plus it’s cheaper this way,” Dipper added, and Mabel nodded in agreement, 

“Ah that’s fair enough I guess, Soos is quite excited to have you guys working with him,” Ford gave a small smile, 

“Yeah, we are too,” Mabel grinned, excitement evident in her voice, 

“Plus he will actually pay us a little,” Dipper added with a smile, 

“More than Stan ever would,” Mabel nodded, 

“You guys never deserved to be paid,” Stan grumbled walking into the kitchen with a yawn. 

“Whatever,” The twins mumbled in unison, 

“I’ll make us a special Mabel breakfast!” Mabel announced now that everyone was up, 

“How much Mabel juice have you had?” Dipper winced at the enthusiasm so early in the morning, 

“Pff not THAT much, only like a few glasses,” Mabel said dismissively, Dipper rolled his eyes, Mabel juice had enough caffeine to wake you up with one mouthful, a few glasses would probably keep you awake for days.

Mabel made her ‘special pancakes’ which basically were normal pancakes but with purple food colouring and lots of edible glitter. Soon there was a large stack of purple sparkling pancakes on the table, Mabel grabbed the maple syrup and sprinkles, a few plates for everyone and they all dug in hungrily. 

“So Stan about the party…” Mabel began, 

“No.” Stan instantly said,

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.” Mabel pouted, 

“I do, you’re going to say, ‘Stan can we have the party here’” Stan said doing a really bad impression of Mabel,

“Please can we,” Mabel begged, 

“No.” Stan stayed firm, Mabel gave her best puppy eyes and Stan’s face softened for a moment before he shook his head looking away, “No.” He said again,

“Ford said it was okay.” Mabel pointed to Ford who put his hands up defensively, 

“Now Mabel I said IF Stan was okay with it.” Ford pointed, 

“And I say no,” Stan crossed his arms over his chest, 

“But this is an extra special celebration, c’mon, I promise there will be no zombie raising.” Mabel pleaded giving Stan her best puppy eyes and batting her eyelashes, Stan glanced at Dipper and then back to Mabel before sighing,

“Fine.” Stan grumbled and Mabel squeaked with excitement, 

“Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou.” Mabel was grinning from ear to ear, Dipper sat there a little bewildered, five years of trying and it took some pancakes and puppy eyes to convince him,

“Whatever.” Stan grumbled shoving half a pancake in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to talk. They mostly talked about the party for the rest of the meal. 

After they had finished eating Dipper ran upstairs to grab his backpack, a new black notebook and some stationary and he even managed to find a hoodie in his box of clothes, shoving his things in his backpack he made his way downstairs where Mabel was waiting for him, she had prepared a bunch of snacks and some bottles of water, 

“Let me put these in your bag,” Mabel said and Dipper turned giving her access to his bag, she put everything in his bag, which ended up weighing a ton more than before, and they put their shoes on ready to leave. They left after telling Ford where they were going and began walking straight to their favourite spot to hang out. They arrived at their spot around ten minutes of walking later, it was a clearing in the forest, large trees towered above, their leaves allowing only dim rays of sun to filter through creating a fairy-tale atmosphere. This was the spot they went to almost every summer, Mabel would climb trees and run around looking for cool things while Dipper would sit and watch. Sometimes he joined in but he preferred to sit and usually draw, either creatures he could see or just the scene around him. Mabel began climbing one of the median sized trees and Dipper found a dry patch of ground and pulled his notebook out along with a pencil and began sketching Mabel climbing the tree. A few hours later Mabel sat next to Dipper, out of breath and grinning, 

“Did you manage the big one?” Dipper asked and Mabel nodded, leaning over to see what Dipper was drawing, 

“That’s me,” Her grin grew wider as she watched Dipper start to shade, 

“Yup,” Dipper replied, 

“You know, you’re really good at drawing, if you wanted you could’ve become an artist,” Mabel commented, 

“I know, but the paranormal interests me way more, just think of all the things I could learn in Gravity Falls,” Dipper enthused, 

“Nerd,” Mabel laughed punching his arm, “C’mon bro bro, race you to the top of that tree,” Mabel pointed to a median sized tree and Dipper sighed rolling his eyes, jeans really weren’t the right clothes to be climbing trees in,

“Okay,” Dipper said deciding to risk it, 

“Alright 321 GO” Mabel shouted running off with a large grin plastered on her face and Dipper had to react fast as he quickly got up and ran to the tree, while his sister was a good climber Dipper was much faster than her and, despite her head start, managed to get to the tree just before her, he began climbing straight away but Mabel soon caught up. In the end Mabel managed to beat Dipper to the top by a very short amount, they sat atop the tree marvelling at the view, 

“Man I missed this,” Dipper breathed as he looked at their spot from a much higher angle then he had been not so long ago, 

“Same here,” Mabel smiled contently. They sat there for a few minutes enjoying the view before Mabel spoke up,

“We should get down, I’m starving,” 

“Race you to the bottom, GO” Dipper smirked as he quickly made his way down, this time beating Mabel, 

“No fair.” Mabel huffed, 

“You did he same thing to me,” Dipper pointed out, Mabel just pouted crossing her arms over her chest and Dipper rolled his eyes moving to where his backpack lay abandoned along with his notepad and pencils. They both sat and ate the snacks Mabel had made while resting, Dipper felt his arms and legs begin to ache slightly, it had been a while since either of them had done so much exercise. After eating they wandered the forest some more, Dipper leading while Mabel trailed behind, Dipper turned to where he recalled there was an interesting statue, he had only found it once before Mabel quickly directed them away. Since then she never let them go to that part of the forest, Dipper just hoped Mabel wasn’t paying any attention to where they were going. 

“Hey Dip lets go this way,” Mabel said obviously trying to direct them away from said statue, he honestly had no idea why she hated it so much, instead of his usual acceptance he decided to push his luck a little,

“Come on Mabes I want to go this way for once,” Dipper insisted not changing direction, Mabel paused biting her lip, Dipper continued pretending not to notice her apprehension. He only made it a short distance without her before she ran to catch up, she didn’t protest further but had a nervous look about her. They walked for five minutes reaching the spot Dipper had remembered seeing the statue, it was another peaceful clearing but this time it was devoid of the statue, 

“Huh, that’s funny, I could’ve sworn this was where the weird statue was.” Dipper muttered turning to Mabel who had turned pale, her eyes wide and panicked, “Hey Mabel are you okay, you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Dipper laughed nervously lightly grabbing his twins arm, both to get her attention and because she looked as if she was about fall. 

“Bill.” She breathed, almost inaudible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all new chapter here on time! Woo, I'm a little hyped from energy drinks and all. Next chapter will be up on Friday for you all.


	4. Did ya miss me?

It was another day when Bill could hear the chanting, he couldn’t see anyone, that wasn’t to say that there wasn’t anyone there just none in his line of vision. Bill recognised the chanting as Latin, he didn’t have time to translate it before excruciating pain consumed his thoughts. Bill let out a humiliating screech and his vision went black as he felt his molecules being rearranged, his whole world literally tipping upside down. But before he knew it the pain stopped and he passed out. 

Bill woke up lying on the dirt ground, leaves and twigs sticking sharply into his skin, the wind sending a chill down his spine, his nervous system overwhelmed by all the new sense that he could suddenly experience. A hand automatically flung to his head in an attempt to soothe his overwhelmed mind. And then realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks, the hand on his head. A human head, he had a head. He sat up quickly regretting so as pain shot in his head. Nope this was definitely not hilarious. He shakily began to stand on two legs, failing at it once and he hit the hard ground, more pain shooting through his body. When he finally succeeded he looked at his arms and legs. A large plain white t-shirt, covered in dry dirt and leaves, and a pair of black skinny jeans had been put on him and he grew more confused, he felt his face, noticing one eye had been covered with a bandage, but all the same he had two eyes and a nose and a mouth. He stumbled around the forest until he got to a river, it took him an hour and his legs burned from the walking, he sunk to his knees and looked at his reflection seeing a human face staring back at him. It was a teenage male, with blonde hair and one blue eye and another eye covered, he had tanned skin and freckles, curiously Bill unwrapped the bandage from his eye to reveal a bloodied eye, it was hard to make out what was there with all the blood. He put the bandage back on and stood up only a little freaked out, he couldn’t feel any magic but he snapped his fingers to summon a cane anyway, when nothing happened he tried again, he tried teleporting concentrated with every fiber of his being but again nothing happened. He stuck a hand in his pocket and felt a piece of paper, taking it out he read it over a few times before cursing. It read:

Bill Cipher  
We have turned you into a human. You will not be able to preform magic and you cannot go back to the mindscape. You have one year to learn what it is to be human yourself or you will cease to exist. 

Bill shoved the paper back into his pocket, finally getting the hang of having a human form again. His headache subsided as his senses adjusted to having a human body but an ache still sat in the pit of his stomach and his throat felt dry. He really was a human. Another curse in Arabic escaped his lips as he looked at the sky. The only thing he could think was at least he wasn’t stuck in that prison anymore, he felt his stomach rumble with what must be hunger and he rethought his earlier statement, maybe this was worse than being imprisoned. 

After about an hour of sitting and thinking Bill decided to get up. He couldn’t sit around all day, it would be night soon and he had to get some shelter. Maybe he could find somewhere safe to rest. 

\- 

“What did you say Mabel, Bill? Whose Bill?” Dipper asked, panic settling at his sister’s uncharacteristic behaviour, 

“We should head back,” Mabel gave Dipper a fake smile, shaking her head as if to shake her strange behaviour away.

“Okay Mabel but are you alright, you look really pale, who is Bill, is he important?” Dipper asked in a rush, panic not fully gone, 

“Yeah I’m fine bro bro, uh just remembered that I forgot to uh, g- get my favourite jacket from Bill’s house before we left home.” Mabel laughed, Dipper relaxed a little, his sister could act really strangely sometimes. He was still worried but her lame excuse was enough for him for now,

“Who is this Bill, an ex-boyfriend of yours? I don’t remember you mentioning him before.” Dipper questioned looking at his sister from the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction. Her eyes widened slightly before she relaxed letting out a silent breath, not unnoticed by Dipper, 

“Nah just an old friend.” She smiled, they walked the rest of the way back to the Shack in slightly awkward silence, Mabel seeming to be having her own internal struggle and Dipper trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his twin. When they got back Dipper saw Ford sat at the kitchen table tinkering with some gadget he had invented. 

“Hey is that Dipper?” Stan called from the gift shop, 

“Yeah!” Mabel yelled and Dipper glared at her, 

“Come here I need you to do something for me.” Stan yelled again, Dipper rolled his eyes ignoring the apologetic look from Mabel and heading to see what Stan wanted, before he left he heard the start of Mabel and Ford’s conversation, 

“It’s gone.” Mabel said in a hushed voice, 

“WHAT!” Ford yelled before calming down and whispering something, Dipper paused confused wanting to turn back and ask questions but the hushed voices told him to stay away. He walked to the gift shop to find Stan stood there with Wendy at the counter and Stan stood waiting for him. 

“Hey Wendy,” Dipper smiled at Wendy who had his pine tree hat on, 

“Hey dude!” Wendy grinned hugging him briefly, Dipper grinned back and swapped their hats back for the last time. 

“Okay, okay you can catch up later, Dipper I want you to stock shelves while Wendy works the register, I have to go grab some party supplies with Ford and your sister.” Stan said, Dipper nodded giving him a small smile, he found it strange that he was taking Mabel with him but he figured maybe she had been acting weird around him too. Stan left and Dipper could distantly hear Ford and Mabel leave shortly after. As soon as he heard them leave he turned to Wendy who gave him a sheepish smile, 

“Okay I’m super stoked for catch up time but I promised Robbie I’d take him to a job interview today, cover for me?” 

“And serve all these customers myself?” Dipper gestured dramatically around the empty shop

“I owe you,” Wendy smiled waving to him as she grabbed her coat to leave, 

“Just promise me a movie night to catch up and we’re even.” Dipper called to her as she left. 

“Deal.” Wendy called back and left. Dipper sighed, he had to admit he was glad to have some time to himself, he knew he couldn’t close the shack early so he grabbed a box of T-shirts from the stock room and began hanging them up. He was close to the end of the box when a customer entered, Dipper had his back to the door so he only heard him, 

“Welcome,” Dipper called over his shoulder, smiling at the customer, who smirked at him, 

“Well well well Pine Tree isn’t it good to see a familiar face,” The guys smirk grew and Dippers polite smile wavered, 

“Um, sorry do I know you?” Dipper asked turning to him fully, the guy was around his age and had tanned skin and blonde hair, he was wearing a way too big t-shirt and jeans, the shirt was covered in mud and if Dipper was honest he’d say it looked as if the male had spent the night in a cave, Dipper also noted that one eye was covered by a bandage, but he didn’t recognise this guy at all.

“Aw don’t play dumb, the names Bill, Bill Cipher,” The man grinned an evil look in his eye, Dipper instinctively took a step back, a dull pain began to form in the back of his head, 

“Erm, hi, uh Bill sorry but I think you have the wrong guy, I’ve never met anyone by that name,” Dipper said, the man took a thoughtful look and eyed Dipper up, Dipper fidgeted uncomfortably under the man’s gaze, he moved past Bill to the cash register mainly so there was more space between him and this odd stranger. The stranger, Bill’s, eyes followed him to the register and Dipper busied himself with writing stock down, assuming that the stranger would be embarrassed and walk away or pretend it didn’t happen and buy something before leaving. 

“Hm? Are you sure you’ve never met me before? Because I’ve sure met you,” The stranger narrowed his eyes, 

“Um, Yeah I’ve never met you,” Dipper replied looking from his writing to the stranger, he recalled a conversation he’d had with Mabel earlier about a guy called Bill, it was unlikely but they could be the same guy. “Wait do you know my sister Mabel?” Dipper asked, and the guys grin returned, 

“Sure, yeah I do, can I see her?” 

“Oh okay, um, she’s out right now but she should be back soon if you wanna wait for her.” Dipper said mainly to be polite, he kind of wished that Bill would just leave and come back later, this guy was really creeping Dipper out. 

“That sounds great,” Bill grinned, the action looked creepy on the teen, 

“Okay, well I have to keep working so you can uh just hang out I guess,” Dipper rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly, Bill shrugged and began scanning the shelves, Dipper went to the stock room to grab a box of snow globes, “So you, uh come here for a vacation or something?” Dipper called attempting to make conversation, 

“Just kinda ended up here,” Bill replied, glancing at Dipper, 

“Oh, okay, so how do you know Mabel then?” Dipper used his pen knife to open the box and began putting snow globes on the almost empty shelves, 

“We go way back.” Bill smirked, 

“Oh,” Dipper replied lamely, “How did you two meet then?” he asked curiously, he didn’t think Mabel had any friends that he didn’t know about, 

“Actually we met here in the Shack, well technically she met me outside in the forest,” Bill explained, 

“Huh,” Dipper said, silence loomed in the room a moment longer, the only sound being Dipper placing the snow globes on the shelves, the dull pain in the back of his head grew worse and Dipper rubbed his forehead under his hat. Once the box was empty, and the pain had subsided slightly Dipper decided to text his sister, 

Dipper: Hey Mabes where are you? A friend is here waiting for you, it’s super awkward, 

Mabel: Oooh A friend :D , we’re still out, heading home soon though, and just converse with them dip, what did they say their name was again??? 

Dipper: I think he said his name was Bill Cipher or something like that,

Mabel: We’re on our way home, don’t talk to him and wait there for us. 

Dipper paused on the last text, his heart began beating faster and he glanced up to the man who for some reason had his head in one of the hung up shirts, and he looked back at his phone, did this mean he was dangerous, what if he had just let a serial killer waiting in the Shack until his family got home, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself he looked back at his phone, 

Dipper: Why, Mabel who is this guy? Should I be worried, should I kick him out? 

Mabel: We’re nearly home just try not to talk to him, he’s a bit of a weirdo. 

Dipper locked his phone nervously putting it back in his pocket, the pain in his head grew more and Dipper sighed his hand once again rubbing his forehead to soothe the painful throb which had made itself present, 

“Headache?” Bill asked with a smirk, 

“Uh yeah,” Dipper replied wearily, Mabel’s texts had spooked him a little, before Bill had a chance to reply Mabel burst through the door and looked at Dipper with worry filled eyes, then her eyes found Bill, they narrowed in confusion before she sent a glare his way, 

“Heya shooting star!” Bill grinned, the throb in Dipper’s head intensified, “Did ya miss me? Admit it you missed me.” And with that Dipper passed out,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Y'all, hope you enjoyed, comments are always appreciated and thank you to those who have already liked and commented, it means alot :)   
> This was originally going to be two separate chapters but the first bit was way too short so I had to just merge it into one. The main reason is that it's pretty late at night and I need some sleep and just don't have time to do them separately. I'm going on holiday for a week and theres no WI-Fi :( So I won't be able to upload until next Sunday/Monday.


	5. Demons make great small talk

Dipper was running through the forest; he didn’t know where to but he knew he had to get there fast, if he didn’t then… Then something bad was going to happen. What he didn’t know but his heart beat fast from the exercise and his stomach felt heavy with anxiety. Then a scream, a scream filled the forest and Dipper recognised it straight away. 

“Mabel!” Dipper shot up from his bed breathing heavily, when his heart rate got to a normal level he looked around his room, boxes still lay about needing to be unpacked, funny he didn’t remember going to bed. He swung his legs over the bed, a hand flying to his head to rub his still aching head, for some reason he was still fully dressed. His hat had been placed on the desk next to his bed, picking up his hat he quietly made his way to the door, as soon as he opened it he could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen, he slowly began to step down stairs finally getting close enough to make out what was being said. 

“So that’s the story, look I’ve even still got the note to prove it,” Dipper believed it was Bill’s voice, 

“How can we trust you?” Came Ford’s stern voice, 

“Look you’ve already tried and failed to exorcise me and I haven’t killed you yet, I think that’s proof enough,” Bill’s smug voice replied. Before they could say anything else Dipper entered the kitchen to find Mabel, Ford, Stan and Bill who had a bruised cheek now. Mabel looked as if she were about to say something before she noticed Dipper and stopped, 

“Oh hey Dip dop, how are you feeling?” She asked, her voice a little strained, 

“Not bad, my head hurts but apart from that I’m fine,” Dipper moved to get a glass of water and some painkillers, “What’s going on?” Dipper asked casually but sending his sister a hard stare, as he swallowed the pills with a mouthful of water, 

“Nothing much,” Mabel replied, Dipper hummed in response his eyes flitting to Bill’s face and lingering on the bruised cheek, Bill himself was wearing a smirk seemingly uncaring of the tense atmosphere which sat with them in the kitchen.

“What happened to your cheek Bill?” Dipper asked more curious than concerned, 

“Stan punched me in the face.” Bill grinned just before Mabel had the chance to speak for him, Dipper raised his eyebrows, 

“Really?” Dipper questioned glancing at an uncomfortable looking Stan, the heavy atmosphere in the kitchen only grew, both Stan and Ford unusually quite seemingly happy with passing the talking to Mabel who also seemed to be struggling, 

“Yeah, it sure hurt too,” Bill frowned a little rubbing his bruised cheek, 

“It looks like it,” Dipper murmured, leaning against the kitchen counter, his gaze moving from Stan to Ford and finally to Mabel who had her head down worrying the hem of her jumper. Silence filled the room and with every quiet second Dipper felt his frustration with his sister and his family grow. Dipper put his glass down louder than necessary, Mabel’s head shot up to stare at her brother, “Are you guys gunna tell me what’s going on or am I going to have to fail at making small talk with Bill forever?” Dipper glared at his sister who gave him a guilty look and let out a weak laugh, 

“Huh what are you talking about bro bro nothing’s going on.” Mabel tried,

“Bullshit,” Dipper snapped,

“Dipper!” Mabel scolded, 

“Come on Mabel I’m not an idiot, I know you’ve been hiding something from me for a while now,” Dipper sighed, Mabel’s eyes widened before she looked down at her hands, 

“Wha-” she began but stopped, 

“Do you really think you can hide shit from me Mabel, you’re a terrible liar, I only went along with all this crap because you were acting so weird, I figured that you’d eventually cave and tell me, that was four years ago Mabel.” Dipper glared at his sister who looked at him wide eyed, 

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Mabel asked, now she sounded annoyed, 

“You always acted so frantic and panicked when the subject came up so I figured it was something serious, you can’t make someone tell you something like that,” Dipper kept his gaze on Mabel, 

“I beg to differ.” Bill interrupted, 

“Shut up Bill,” Dipper spat, almost out of instinct, everyone seemed a little shocked at this but Dipper ignored it, “but man I hinted at it so many times,” he finished, 

“I… I’m sorry,” Mabel’s head dropped again and Dipper’s face softened, “B…But we can’t tell you.” Mabel said quietly, Dipper sighed, 

“And why not,” He was obviously holding back his anger and Mabel recognised this as the calm before the storm. 

“It’s too dangerous.” Ford interrupted, Dipper looked at Ford instead reading his face, it was stern and there was no hint of a joke, Dipper sighed deciding to take a different approach.

“Look, isn’t it more dangerous to keep this a secret, especially if demons are involved.” Dippers eyes fell on Bill (who grinned wide) for one obvious moment before looking back at Ford, his stare determined, Ford’s eyes widened and he seemed lost for words for a short moment, 

“How did you-” Ford began and Dipper rolled his eyes, 

“Again not a total idiot, strange guy, who for some reason is still here and a part of this conversation, comes in, Mabel’s weird factor turns up to eleven and then you try to exorcise him, it’s kinda obvious,” Ford looked speechless once again, he had obviously underestimated Dipper’s intelligence, before he seemed to relax just a little. 

“Dipper this is more serious than you think it is.” Ford said sternly, Dipper sighed, 

“Yeah okay maybe it is, but I have a right to know.” Dipper looked between all three of his family before saying the next part, something clicking in his head, “especially if you erased my memories.” Dipper gave Ford a levelled look, feeling a spike of pride when his great uncle’s eyes widened and he gaped a little at Dipper confirming his suspicions. He had really underestimated Dipper’s intelligence.

“Ha, the kids more intelligent than I thought,” Bill smirked looking Dipper up and down, Dipper just sent him a glare for the ‘kid’ part. 

“Dipper, when did you figure this out?” Ford asked seriously, Dipper rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, 

“Well actually you just confirmed my suspicions now.” Dipper mumbled, 

“But-” Mabel began before Dipper stopped her, 

“Um well I wasn’t sure or anything and it was just this morning I began to suspect, you guys were talking and didn’t hear me coming so I overheard you a bit and then you kept acting weird so I kinda just put two and two together.” Dipper shrugged looking at his glass, and away from everyone else, uncomfortable with everyone’s gaze being on him. 

“To be honest I’m more surprised that you didn’t figure this out earlier, I guess you are only human though.” Bill inspected his nails casually, his eyes glancing at Dipper for a brief moment, 

“Do you… Um do you remember?” Mabel asked worried, 

“No.” Dipper said with a small frown, he had hoped that when he figured it out he might but he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. It was like pushing on a brick wall, it didn’t help that he didn’t know which memories had been erased. Mabel sighed in relief and Ford and Stan seemed to relax a little,

“Don’t try too hard to, we don’t know what will happen if you remember, but we can’t imagine it will be good.” Ford said, though he seemed like he knew exactly what would happen if Dipper remembered, 

“Okay, okay I won’t try to remember, but can you at least tell me how I know Bill,” Dipper sighed rubbing his still aching head, the painkillers didn’t seem to be working all too well. 

“Um…” Mabel began but was interrupted by Bill, 

“Oh kid we go way back, we met when I tried to get some codes off Stanley here.” Bill gave Stan what Dipper had to assume was a wink, it was hard to tell with one eye bandaged, Stan sent a glare his way but the others seemed relieved at the answer. 

“I think I need to sit down,” Dipper mumbled taking the only free seat at the table, between Mabel and Bill, Mabel patted his arm her face soft and comforting, 

“Are you okay bro bro?” She asked, 

“I just don’t know what to think about all this, it’s a lot to take in.” He grumbled putting his still aching head in his hands, 

“It’s a lot of new, and weird information for one sitting I know.” Ford said, in an attempt to comfort him, Dipper just shrugged, unsure of how he could respond. 

“So why is Bill here?” Dipper asked his voice muffled by his hands, 

“Some cult decided to make me a human and I need a place to crash.” Bill shrugged like it was nothing, 

“That place is not here.” Ford said sternly, Dipper looked up at him from his hands, 

“Why can’t he stay here, he’s a demon, I thought you’d be all over something like this.” Dipper narrowed his eyes at his great uncle, 

“Well, um, we can’t trust him.” Ford said, 

“Yeah, yeah trust no one,” Dipper muttered, 

“What?” Ford asked taken aback, 

“Huh? Nothing.” Dipper grumbled, he’d already forgotten what he said, 

“Ford, do you really want Bill to be let loose in this world?” Stan asked, seemingly the only one beginning to think logically. Surprisingly Bill was very quiet, it seemed very out of character for the guy, who was unable to shut up before. 

“I guess not,” Ford grumbled, “Fine you can ‘crash’ here, but you have to earn it, work for Stan, but no talking to customers.” Ford stood up abruptly, “I’m going to go work on a few things,” He said vaguely and he stalked away a large frown in his face, Dipper glanced over to Bill who was staring at him, Dipper gave him a weird look before turning to his sister. Mabel was worrying the hem of her jumper. Stan stood up and left mumbling something about money. 

“Mabel don’t be so nervous, I’ll be fine,” Dipper put a comforting hand on her shoulder and Mabel gave him a weak smile, Dipper gave her a reassuring smile back but when she turned back to her jumper Dipper frowned slightly, if even his sister’s optimistic attitude was dampened by this then it must be serious, he wondered if it was a mistake telling them that he had figured it out, he could have waited. Dipper rubbed his still aching forehead taking off his hat and leaving it on the table, 

“Your head still hurt?” Mabel asked, Dipper nodded weakly, 

“Probably just need some more sleep.” He muttered letting his hand drop to the table, 

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Mabel said getting up, she took a deep breath and sent him a big smile, Dipper smiled back sitting up a little straighter in his seat, 

“Thanks,” He said. He glanced at Bill who was still staring at him, Dipper shifted in his seat uncomfortable, 

“What’s up with you?” He grumbled sending Bill a weak glare, Bill didn’t respond just kept staring. Mabel placed a large glass of water in front of him and Bills eyes focused on the water, Dipper looked between the glass and Bill before deciding to push it towards him. Bill’s eyes never left the glass until it was in front of him, his eyes flickered to Dipper and back to the glass before he hesitantly picked it up, he slowly brought it up to his lips, once again glancing at Dipper who was watching him curiously. Bill carefully tipped the glass a little until the water touched his chapped lips and then he threw his head back along with the glass, water went everywhere, in his hair, on his clothes, on the floor, everywhere but in his mouth. Bill looked a little shocked but not as much as both Dipper and Mabel, Bill turned to Dipper and Dipper couldn’t help it but he burst out laughing, loudly, he was soon followed by Bill’s cackling and Mabel’s giggling. 

After they cleaned up the water, Dipper gave Bill one of his old shirts to wear and they gave him another glass of water. Dipper got his own water and after watching him drink Bill imitated the action, this time getting much less water on himself. Mabel made them some snacks, Bill had trouble eating those too, but soon learned, the tension from before practically gone, Mabel talked about the party they were going to have the next day and she listed off all the things they needed to buy for the party.

“Didn’t you get any of those things earlier?” Dipper asked and Mabel shrugged,

“Not really,” she replied and Dipper rolled his eyes, 

“Can’t trust you to do anything,” He grinned and she gave him a mock pout punching his arm, 

“Like you would have done any better.” She grinned and Dipper rolled his eyes, rubbing the sore spot she had hit, 

“What party?” Bill asked, 

“We’re having a party here to celebrate moving back here permanently,” Dipper explained and Bill nodded a wide grin spread on his face. 

“Great I love parties, will there be zombies?” Bill grinned and Dipper noticed Mabel go wide eyed for a brief moment before collecting herself, 

“Man you guys are all so obsessed with Zombies,” Dipper commented with a small smile. The pain in his head grew and a hand flew up to rub his head, a small hiss of pain leaving his lips, he felt a hand on his back, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing, 

“Dipping sauce are you okay?” She asked, though her voice sounded distant to him as the pain intensified, 

“I’m…fi..” He began but was cut off as he let out another hiss of pain. 

“Bill what’s happening,” Mabel asked Bill frantic, Dipper couldn’t see Bill but he assumed he only shrugged or failed to answer as the silence drew out. Dipper wanted to comfort his twin but he found it hard to speak through the pain, an image of Soos as a zombie chasing after them flashed in Dipper’s mind but it was gone as quickly as it came and he could barely process what he saw. He heard Mabel call for Ford, and Dipper opened his mouth to protest but all that came out was a small pained noise as the pain tripled. Dipper wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle it, another image of a zombie attacking a guy in all black. Dipper stood up now gripping his head tightly, his chair hit the floor the noise barely registering in Dipper’s brain as the pain intensified even more, before he could stop himself he stumbled out a few lines in Latin before stopping and then starting again, but the words died on his tongue as soon as a hand covered his mouth, Dipper gathered from the extra finger that it was Ford. The pain in his head spiked again and he let out another pained yet muffled noise, more images of zombies and bright lights flashed in his head and he distantly heard Ford’s voice but couldn’t make out what he said. The loud sound of thumping music along with flashes of bright lights took over his mind for a brief moment the pain intense and fear bubbling in his chest. 

“-pper, can you hear me?” Ford voice became stronger the more he spoke, “Dipper, listen to me.” Ford’s voice began clear again and the pain in his head lessened slightly, “Dipper you need to listen to my voice,” And Dipper blinked, his eyes focusing more on his surroundings, they unfocused again the pain fluctuating and he focused on the hand on his face, “Dipper can you hear me?” Ford tried again seemingly noticing Dipper’s eyes begin to focus again, Dipper opened his mouth and the hand was removed from his face, moving to his shoulder, he was happy for the support, it helped ground him slightly, 

“Yeah,” He croaked out, his throat dry and sore, the pain in his head dulled before coming back again, Ford spoke again and Dipper focused on his voice, 

“What happened, can you tell me what just happened? What did you see?” Ford asked and Dipper blinked a few times Fords strong hand was still on his shoulder and Dipper concentrated on it allowing it to keep him focused, 

“I…I Don…” Dipper coughed his throat sore, realisation hit him and he looked to Ford wide eyed, “I think that was a memory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys new chapter here on time (just) It's kinda late here so it hasn't been beta read yet so please forgive any mistakes and tell me if you find any. 
> 
> I don't know if it's just me but the authors notes for this fic have been all weird, for some reason the notes from the first chapter keep moving to other chapters so sorry if that's happening, I don't know how to fix it.
> 
> I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be up sometime at the end of this week I hope, I have a busy-ish week ahead and my mums not doing too well so I have to look after her and try to keep up with all the housework so I don't have oodles of time to write but I will try to get as much done as possible because I love writing this :)


	6. Minor Bumps?

“What!” Mabel exclaimed wide eyed, Dipper swayed a little still working through what had just happened, afterimages flickered in his mind and he found it hard to concentrate on where he was. He looked at Mabel allowing her concerned look to ground him, concentrating on his worried sister he took a deep breath, 

“I…” Dipper began his voice croaky, Mabel picked up on what he was trying to convey and quickly grabbed him a glass of water, taking small sips Dipper concentrated on his surroundings, the images soon faded and his head felt a lot clearer, 

“What memory was it?” Ford prompted, Dipper shut his eyes trying to think, 

“Um… There were zombies, some guys in black were being attacked, and um… Soos was,” The memory fell out of Dipper’s grip and he opened his eyes blinking up at Ford, “It’s gone,” He said taking small sips of his water. Ford sighed in relief, and he took a book out of his pocket, flicking through it he stopped on a page near the middle, 

“It sounds like a memory fragment,” Ford said and he nodded to himself before looking at Dipper, 

“A memory fragment?” Dipper asked surprised, “Wait if that was only a fragment then what would the actual thing do?” Dipper asked wide eyed, staring at his great uncle, Ford remained silent but had a nervous look on him. 

“Oh.” Dipper said realisation hitting him, “Shit,” He mumbled, he felt his chest tighten and his heart rate sped up, “Fuck,” He mumbled again feeling his breathing become shallower, “crap” he sat down on the chair before his legs failed him, 

“Calm down, Dipper remember your breathing exercises,” Mabel soothed rubbing her brothers back. Dipper remembered what he had been told to do to avoid going into a panic attack, imagine a triangle of your favourite colour. 

“Yellow triangles,” Dipper mumbled to himself imagining a glowing yellow triangle and attempting to breathe at a normal rate. Yellow wasn’t even his favourite colour but for some reason he always imagined the two together. It didn’t help much,

“Stay calm Dipper, memory fragments don’t mean you will remember the entire thing, in fact it’s your brain blocking out the memory.” Ford reassured, this helped. 

“Since when did Pine Tree have panic attacks?” Bill asked calm as ever, 

“Since I was thirteen,” Dipper said, now mostly calmed down, 

“Yellow triangle huh?” Bill smirked, Dipper had no idea what had him acting so cocky, 

“Yeah, I was told that to help stop them escalating I should imagine a triangle of my favourite colour,” Dipper said, almost defensively, though he wasn’t sure why, Bills smirk turned into a wide grin, “It didn’t help though,” Dipper mumbled, Bills grin impossibly widened. 

“It’s decided, Bill, you are to stay away from Dipper when possible.” Ford said glaring at Bill who in return gave a mock pout, 

“Aw sixer that’s a little harsh.” Bill folded his arms, 

“Ever since you came here Dipper has been dangerously close to,” Ford paused seemingly rethinking his working, “Remembering. You may be staying here but stay as far away from Dipper as possible,” Ford crossed his arms, his glare intensifying, 

“It’s a deal.” Bill purred, Ford seemed enraged for a short moment before calming himself and settling on sending another glare Bill’s way and left, “well that was fun while it lasted, see you guys later,” Bill sauntered out the room probably to follow Ford. Dipper sighed deeply, the pain in his head had gone and the images from earlier had disappeared, 

“Bro bro are you alright?” Mabel asked and Dipper nodded, 

“I’m fine, just a little spooked,” Dipper replied quietly, Mabel walked around and hugged Dipper, tightly, 

“I was scared for a moment there Dip, don’t do that again,” Mabel mumbled before letting him go.

“I’ll try not to.” Dipper replied. They sat in a slightly awkward silence, Dippers thoughts running at a thousand miles an hour and Mabel in a rare moment of deep thought. 

“Right, I’m going to finish unpacking,” Dipper announced getting up and Mabel looked up snapping out of her own thoughts,

“Yeah, I think I’m going to bake something,” Mabel mumbled, she had said before that baking always helped cheer her up Dipper just hoped that it worked, he hated seeing his sister worry about him. 

Dipper made his way to his room and unpacked all his clothes and the rest of his things, when he was finished he collapsed on his bed, the sheets still smelt of the cheap detergent Stan always used, (he had also heard from Ford that Stan cleaned their rooms before they came back.) Dipper sighed deeply allowing the scent to fill his nose relaxing him after a stressful day, there was a nagging at the back of his mind creating a constant anxiety to swell: what if I remember more? Why did Ford cover my mouth? The second thought made its way to the front of his mind and he sat up thinking, was it because he was speaking Latin? Maybe it was a spell, Dipper decided to ask Ford the next time he saw him. Dipper leaned against the wall absently remembering that he left his hat on the kitchen table. The smell of freshly baked muffins made its way into Dipper’s room coaxing him downstairs. He, a little louder than normal, went to the kitchen to find Bill sat talking to Mabel, the conversation sounded serious and neither of them realised he was there until he sat opposite Bill at the table, 

“Oh hey Pine Tree” Bill grinned, 

“What were you guys talking about?” Dipper asked, 

“Memory fragments, I was just telling shooting star here that they’re nothing to worry about, just minor bumps,” Bill explained, 

“Sure felt like more than a ‘minor bump’ to me” Dipper grumbled rubbing his head.

“Ha, just wait till you feel the real thing.” Bill laughed and Dipper cringed,

“Well hopefully that won’t happen, anyway, what happened to staying away from me?” Dipper asked mainly to change topic, 

“Hah Sixer can’t stop me from doing anything no matter how hard he tries.” Bill smiled smugly, 

“Sure.” Dipper rolled his eyes and made to grab one of Mabel’s muffins,

“Careful they’re hot,” Mabel warned as Dipper grabbed one, as promised they were too hot to eat so he sat down at the table,

“So, do you really think you triggered the memory fragment then?” Dipper asked,

“Course he did bro bro, this all started when he came here.” Mabel said and Dipper shook his head, 

“I know but the fragment had nothing to do with Bill, it was just zombies.” Dipper pointed out,

“I know but it was what Bill said that triggered it, he’s too familiar.” Mabel said. Dipper sighed giving up, she was right as far as he knew it was what Bill had said that triggered the fragment, but Dipper couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it, 

“I’m gunna go talk to Ford.” Dipper said taking bites out of the muffin as he walked to the vending machine. He found Ford hastily writing in a notebook, the basement looked just as messy as usual, with papers spread everywhere and various containers holding both dead and alive creatures from the forest, 

“He grunkle Ford can I ask you something?” Dipper asked quietly, not wanting to startle Ford, 

“Dipper my boy, I trust that you are feeling better,” Ford turned to him with a small smile, 

“Yeah thanks, but um-” Dipper started before he was cut off by Ford,

“Excellent. Now I did more research into memory fragments and I can assure you that there is nothing to worry about,” Ford said flicking through a notebook to briefly show Dipper a page he had created on memory fragments, Dipper read as much as he could in the few seconds that Ford held the book still, 

“That’s good but-” Dipper tried again before being interrupted again, 

“Yes yes, but if you experience this again you must tell me right away so we can record them, not many people ever experience them so there is very little written about them,” Ford put the notebook down picking up an old looking book and showing it to Dipper, the page had very little written on it and only a small sketch of what looked like the human brain, Dipper didn’t really get to see much as it was quickly taken away again and Ford wrote some things down on a scrap piece of paper. Dipper gave a small smile, Ford was always like this while in the basement, he surrounded himself with his work and that was all his mind could focus on, for most it was hard to keep up with Ford’s train of thought but Dipper was getting the hang of it. 

“About when I was experiencing the fragment,” Dipper started, he took a peak at Ford’s writings all numbers and nonsense writings, 

“Mmm?” Ford responded only half paying attention, already thinking about something else, 

“Well while I was going through it, I think I started speaking Latin, which is weird because I don’t even know any Latin,” Dipper continued and Ford turned to face Dipper again, “Was that a spell, is that why you covered my mouth?” Dipper asked and Ford gave a small nod, 

“I had to stop you before you finished or we would have had a serious problem to deal with,” Ford nodded again,

“So you think the spell would have actually worked then?” Dipper asked and Ford’s expression became serious, 

“I know it would have, anyone can perform magic Dipper, most can only do small weak magic and a lot people do magic without even realising.” Ford explained, 

“Wait really?” Dipper asked wide eyed, 

“Yes, most of the time it’s only small things like always picking out your favourite flavour sweet from a packet or always managing to find a matching pair of socks, or even just managing to stay up all night to cram for a test and still pass, unique things like that but more powerful magic that uses spells or incantations take much more power, some have a natural talent for it and others have to take years to learn it, the spell you were trying to cast however was pretty mild, some people would be able to accomplish it pretty easily.” Half way through his explanation Ford had gotten up and started pacing while Dipper had sat himself on a crate. Dipper always loved visiting Ford in the basement, he always got an interesting lecture, Dipper was a little disappointed that he didn’t have a pen and paper to take notes with, it wasn’t often that Ford talked about magic so he enjoyed the moments when he did. 

“So anyone can do magic?” Dipper asked mainly trying to conclude Ford’s point, 

“Absolutely anyone,” Ford replied with a grin, stopping his pacing to look at Dipper who grinned in return, Ford’s grin faded, “Though Only few people actually have the capacity to preform powerful magic, some people’s bodies just can’t handle the foreign energy.” Ford turned away from Dipper getting back to his work. Dipper hopped off the crate leaving him to it, he was pretty sure that was all he would get for now. 

“Later Ford,” Dipper said only receiving a distracted ‘yeah’ in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, wow I think It's been a while now, sorry about that. Anywho, I think I managed to solve the authors notes chapter from last time, I may never know. Next update will be Monday so please leave a like and a comment it really makes my day! 
> 
> Fun fact! Okay so the whole 'triangle of your favourite colour' thing is an actual technique you can use to try and help you. I mean it didn't help me but we all work in different ways. I hated the counceller who taught me this so I kinda just don't like it out of spite. But when she said triangles I instantly thought of Bill and knew that Dipper in this AU would also make the connection. 
> 
> Also side note THANK YOU for 27 kudos on this fic (I keep getting e-mails saying someone kudos'd this fic and then when I look it's still at 27 so idk whats happening there) But thank you to all of you who liked and even those who commented on this fic, it means alot to me as an author to read feedback and to know what you do and don't like because I can adjust my story if need be (Like explain something if you don't understand or whatever) My Tumblr is awesomepinklion if you wanted to follow it or something, I'll eventually post fanfic updates (No one who follows me atm reads this so its alittle silly to post update rn)


	7. Broken phones

Dipper climbed back up to the gift shop, tapping out a text on his phone meaning he didn’t see where he was going so he managed to trip over on the last step and topple into Bill’s arms, dropping his phone, probably cracking the screen, and losing a little bit of his dignity on his way, 

“Aw you fell for me,” Bill smirked, one eye was still covered in a bandage. Dipper pushed himself off Bill, pushing the other back a step, and stood up straighter to glare at Bill, 

“Hilarious,” He grumbled bending to pick up his phone to see that not only had the entire screen smashed it also no longer worked, “Shit,” He muttered glaring at. 

“I’m a funny guy,” Bill shrugged, 

“Whatever, are you going to see Ford, cos he’s working right now.” Dipper asked,

“I’m sure he won’t mind working together again” Bill grinned, 

“Wait you two used to work together?” Dipper asked curiously, 

“Oh yeah, long time ago we worked great together until he decided I was evil,” Bill said with a small frown, 

“He just decided that one day?” Dipper raised an eyebrow. Bill just shrugged, “What did you two work together on?” Dipper asked trying to pry more information out of him, 

“The portal” Bill grinned, 

“Wait what?” Dipper asked surprised, 

“Didn’t he tell you about the portal?” Bill asked with a smirk, 

“No no they told me about the portal but Ford said he and Fiddleford built it together, he never mentioned having a demon help him, that is strange.” Dipper’s eyebrows creased in concentration. Ford told him about all the entities he had encountered so why did he leave Bill out? Dipper looked up at Bill who was staring at him with an unreadable look on his face. 

“Looks like sixer is hiding more from you than you think.” Bill smirked, 

“Seems so,” Dipper shrugged moving to go to his room but was stopped by Bill, 

“Doesn’t that annoy you?” He asked crossing his arms, 

“Huh? Not really,” Dipper shrugged, 

“Hmm, I thought it would irritate you to no end,” Bill said looking him up and down.

“They hide stuff from me all the time, they’re only trying to protect me, they think the more I know about you the more likely I am to remember. Which is a pretty good assumption to make,” Dipper said,

“How you’ve matured Pine Tree,” Bill said with a smirk, 

“Whatever, I don’t need some demon looking down on me,” Dipper spat sharply, he felt like Bill was constantly mocking him and that irritated him to no end. 

“You should lighten up kid, that hasn’t changed about you,” And to emphasise his point Bill patted Dipper’s head as he passed by and headed down to Ford. Dipper stood there fuming for a moment debating weather to push the demon down the rest of the stairs before taking a deep breath, don’t let him get to you, he’s just some lowly demon. Dipper repeated in his head until he felt calm. He headed to the kitchen to see Mabel making party decorations, various deserts were cooling on the side, the room smelt of freshly baked cookies and Dipper gave a soft smile. 

“Hey dipping dots, how’s the head?” Mabel chirped giving him a big smile, the mass amount of baking only lifting her mood further, 

“Hey, it’s all good, how’s the party preparations going?” He asked finding the cooling rack with the cookies on and grabbing one. 

“Not bad, but could you help me bro bro?” Mabel asked and Dipper sat down and began to help her make some decorations, 

“I don’t know why you insist on making everything for every party we have, you’d save some much time if you just bought the decoration pre made.” Dipper said with a sigh and Mabel slapped him lightly on the arm, 

“Dip it’s just not the same if you buy everything pre made.” Mabel whined and Dipper rolled his eyes.

“Sure, sure.” Dipper smiled. Dipper and Mabel turned to the door as they heard a commotion outside the kitchen, 

“Leave me alone Bill,” Ford grumbled, pushing Bill sending him stumbling into the kitchen.  
“Aw come on Fordsy you never had a problem with working with me before,” Bill whined, though a large grin was plastered on his face.

“Just, just do something else, I can’t concentrate with you constantly breathing over my shoulder,” Ford seethed, 

“Just because you can’t stand that you’re wrong,” Bill gave a small laugh at the glare he received, 

“Just leave me alone.” Ford snapped and stormed out, not noticing Dipper or Mabel in the room, Bill however did and he grinned at them widely, Dipper rolled his eyes and continued making paper chains but Mabel stared at him, 

“How did you manage to annoy him? Ford’s head is made of like steel or something, no matter how hard I try I can never manage to annoy him that much,” Mabel gaped, Bill shrugged, 

“I just kept telling him he was wrong and offered to help him, for a price.” Bill sat down next to Dipper and picked up the paper chain he was making, 

“What are you doing?” He asked pulling a disgusted face, 

“We’re making decorations for the party, why don’t you help since you’re here?” Dipper said handing him some strips of paper, 

“I’m good,” Bill said putting the paper carefully on the table. Mabel glanced from Bill to Dipper, studying Dipper extra carefully, Dipper gave her a curious stare but she just shook her head. 

“Is your head alright?” She asked a little cautiously, 

“I feel fine Mabes” Dipper assured her giving her a reassuring smile, she glanced at Bill who was inspecting his nails. “Have you had dinner yet?” He glanced at the messy kitchen and assumed she hadn’t, 

“Heh not really,” She gave him a sheepish smile and he rolled his eyes,

“I’ll clean up and make us some,” Dipper smiled and Mabel grinned, 

“Thanks bro bro,” 

“Mabel?” 

“Yeah bro bro?” 

“How did you get cake batter on the cupboard?” Dipper asked inspecting the splatted cupboards, 

“I’m underappreciated in my time.” Mabel practically yelled.


	8. Chapter 8

It ended up taking half an hour to clean the whole kitchen, Dipper had even noticed cake batter on the roof and plenty of sprinkles in places that sprinkles shouldn’t be. He had no idea how Mabel always managed to make so much mess while baking, sometimes he wondered if she just did it purposely to annoy Dipper. Once the kitchen was clean Dipper opened the fridge to see what he could make, 

“Hmm… Do you want tortilla wraps with chicken or…?” He looked dug around in the fridge moving aside some jars of mysterious contents and finding a pack of mince, “Or I could make meatballs,” Dipper looked at Mabel over his shoulder and she shrugged, he moved his gaze to Bill, 

“Um meatballs?” Bill said unsure, for a brief moment Dipper wondered if he even knew what meatballs were. Dipper picked up the package of mince and found a few mushrooms next to it. 

“Meatballs it is,” Dipper grinned closing the fridge with his foot, he set to work cooking while Mabel cleared the table. “Where’s Stan?” Dipper asked realising he hadn’t seen Stan for a while, 

“I think he’s been working on the StanOwar, he said there was a few adjustments he needed to make, he may have gone out to get some parts so I’d save him some dinner for later,” Mabel replied. Dipper began searching the cupboards for some seasoning and began cutting up some onions. 

“They’re leaving in a week or, so right?” Dipper asked as he continued preparing the meat,

“Yeah, they’re probably leaving by then,” Mabel replied,

“Probably?” Dipper turned to look at her, 

“Well they might delay their trip until we figure out what to do with Bill.” Mabel glanced between Dipper and Bill. Dipper had to wonder who Bill was to them all, everyone seemed to hate to be around him and at the same time not be able to stand the thought of him being around anyone else. Dipper had to admit that his interest was piqued, he wanted nothing more than to pick Bill’s brain for information but the way everyone acted around him made Dipper think twice about being alone with him. Dipper didn’t know the extent of Bill’s power, he had first assumed that Bill was some low demon, a prankster at best but now he was rethinking that as Everyone seemed to have this distrust towards him, constantly ensuring that Bill was never alone. 

“Oh.” Dipper replied, they remained pretty quiet while Dipper finished cooking. He plated up enough food for the three of them leaving enough for Stan and Ford assuming they’d get their own later. As soon as the plate was in front of Mabel she dug in excitedly. 

“So Bill, how long do you plan on staying here?” Dipper asked carefully, he mainly wanted to break the silence and Bill seemed chattier than his sister at the current moment. 

“I’d say a year should do,” Bill grinned, 

“That’s a long time, you sure you don’t have anywhere else to stay or something?” Dipper questioned, 

“Nope, I’m not exactly liked among other people,” Bill chirped, 

“It’s not hard to see why,” Dipper rolled his eyes, Bill simply chuckled not seeming to be insulted, Dipper guessed it was above the demon. They ate in a similar conversational matter and when they were done Mabel cleaned up their plates, Dipper left her to wash the dishes while he went back to his room mainly to be alone for a while. He flopped onto his bed sighing deeply, it was safe to say that today had been one of the wildest days he’s had in a while. He breathed in the comforting scent of his sheets feeling sleep tug on his head pulling him under with little resistance from his sleepy brain.

Dipper was back in the monochrome world but somehow it was in worse shape than before. Some creatures had given up completely on movement just staring blankly into nothing. Others still trudged along without reason. Just like last time one caught his eye and was invigorated with purpose, speeding towards him, Dipper moved out of the way narrowly avoiding the creature who immediately turned to attack again. Dipper tried to run but his feet were trapped by some invisible force which tripped him sending him face fist into the ground. Dipper woke up to find himself once again on the ground, his face ached from what Dipper concluded as hitting the floor. He rubbed his face sitting up. Now that was weird, he absently wondered if now was the right time to tell the others about his weird dreams. 

Dipper found he was still fully dressed however it was late morning, deciding a shower was the best course of action Dipper grabbed some fresh clothes and left for the bathroom. Once he was fresh and clean he went downstairs hoping for some much-needed coffee. He found Bill sat at the kitchen table with Ford and Mabel, who was preparing decorations for the party. Dipper mumbled out a ‘morning’ before making a beeline for the coffee maker, already filled with fresh coffee. He poured himself a large mugful sipping the coffee before he even sat down between Bill and Ford. 

“sleep alright?” Ford asked, 

“Not really, I guess.” Dipper mumbled, 

“Are the nightmares back again?” Ford asked, panic creeping into his voice, 

“Not really, they’re just kinda weird more than anything,” Dipper said thoughtfully, he found the more he tried to remember the fuzzier it got. 

“What are they about?” Mabel asked, concern dripping from her eyes.

“I can’t really remember, I’m in this like weird world and there are a bunch of creatures fading away, and then one attacks me, it’s kinda fuzzy.” Dipper sighed wishing he could remember more.

“It’s okay bro bro they’re just dreams, you should be thinking about the party tonight and how awesome it is going to be, especially because there will be karaoke, we should form a family group to capture the hearts of the town,” Mabel beamed, Dipper had wanted to mention that this wasn’t the first time he’d had that dream but Mabel seemed to be trying to act oblivious; he figured he should let her have her fun for now she sure needed the distraction after the day before.

“Mabel, I am not singing,” Dipper said,   
“Neither will I,” Ford added, 

“Oh I would love to hear the two of you sing,” Bill smirked, Dipper rolled his eyes, 

“You really wouldn’t,” he grumbled, 

“C’mon bro bro you can sing,” Mabel gave him puppy dog eyes earning another eye roll, 

“Yeah, when have you heard me sing?” Dipper asked folding his arms smugly, 

“All the time in the shower you always sing BABBA,” Mabel smirked and Dipper sputtered a little, his face heating up, 

“I don’t,” He tried looking away to hid his face, 

“You do!” Mabel laughed and Dipper instinctively pulled his hat further down, 

“Whatever, I’m going to see if Soos wants help in the shop,” Dipper briskly walked away his face still burning with embarrassment, he had kept his guilty pleasure of a band secret from most people in fear of being bullied, he had once drunkenly revealed his secret love for the Icelandic pop band to a friend at a party and was relentlessly made fun of until he pretended he had only said it because of the alcohol. He entered the gift shop to find Soos, Melody working while Soos Jr. played with some bobble heads on the counter. 

“Hey Soos and Melody, need any help?” Dipper smiled receiving warm smiles in return,

“Hey Dipper, sure you can help us stock our shelves, how have you been?” Melody asked giving him a short hug before returning to sweeping the floor. Dipper grabbed a box of bobble heads and neatly piled them on the empty shelf while telling Melody and Soos about school and what had been going on in the year. He busied himself with working noticing that Ford had taken Bill with him to his lab and kept him there most the day. 

Soon the day passed and they were all setting up for the party Mabel was practically buzzing with excitement and, what Dipper gathered, a whole jug of Mabel juice. The bright lights and decorations made Dippers head hurt a little, everything seemed extremely familiar yet not at the same time, he brushed it off, him and Mabel had been to many parties in high school Mabel had even ran a few herself, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to the atmosphere, it’s just that this felt weird. He sighed deciding to wash his face to help ground him and hopefully snap him out of whatever it was that was bugging him. When he left the bathroom he bumped into Bill, seeming to shock the other.

“Well well well heya pine tree, you excited for a hopefully zombie free party?” Bill grinned, Dipper rolled his eyes, 

“Well I haven’t seen any zombies about lately so I think we’re safe,” 

“You can never be too sure,” Bill countered ominously, Dipper ignored him brushing past him to go find Mabel to see if she needed anything from him. Dipper was sure he felt Bills eyes watching him go but he didn’t bother turning around to find out. Dipper found Mabel in the kitchen preparing some last minute food, in the distance Dipper could hear some music booming. Dipper helped Mabel and soon guests began arriving and the party was in full swing, Dipper chatted with Wendy and her friends catching up with them all, it was when he went to refill his drink that he encountered something strange, Mabel was talking to some guy Dipper had never met, he looked familiar with bright blond hair, he was a little shorter than Mabel who didn’t look too pleased to see him. Dipper made his way over to the pair partly out of curiosity and partly to see if his sister needed any backup. 

“Well well well, Dipper Pines, it’s nice to see you again,” The boy had a heavy accent, his voice full of distaste,

“Sorry do I know you?” Dipper questioned looking to Mabel who seemed to be silently panicking.

“Why don’t act dumb, I haven't changed that much, it’s me Gideon,” The boy grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so... It's been a while um sorry? I wanna pick this fic back up so if you would like to see more comment to let me know :)


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